Kamal Nath demands CBI probe in the killings of tribal families in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath demanded a CBI investigation into the assassination and burial of five members of a tribal family in Nemawar town on Monday, July 5. The corpses of  Mamata Balai (45), her children Rupali (21) and Divya (14) as well as relatives Puja (15) and Pawan (14), who had been missing since May 13, were discovered buried 10 feet underground in an agricultural area on June 29, according to Dewas Superintendent of Police Shivdayal Singh.

Kamal Nath seeks CBI probe in MP case

On Monday, Nath met with the family of the deceased, along with party colleagues Arun Yadav, Kantilal Bhuria, Sajjan Singh Verma, Jitu Patwari, and Nakul Nath, and offered a financial aid of Rs 25 lakh on behalf of his party. 

After meeting the kins of victims, he noted, "Today, I met the victim's family and this brutal murder has pained me a lot. The family members are still in fear and there was dilly-dallying in filing their report. Efforts were made to hide the incident and the accused were roaming without any fear and misleading the police. The matter should be probed by the CBI."

According to the police, their investigation focused on one Surendra Rajput, who admitted to being in a relationship with one of the deceased, Rupali, and that he's marrying another female had infuriated her. Rajput told police that he became enraged after Rupali posted false information about the girl he was supposed to marry, so he gathered his brother Virendra and friends Vivek Tiwari, Rajkumar, Manoj Korku, and Karan Korku, killed them, and buried them in a field, according to the SP.

Tribal family killed in MP

The official noted, "Their bodies have been found in the spot which was revealed to us by Rajput during questioning. Brothers Surendra and Virendra, as well as Vivek Tiwari, Rajkumar, Manoj Korku and Karan Korku, along with one Rakesh Nimore, to whom the accused had given Rupali's mobile phone, have been arrested."

Those arrested, according to Congress leader and former minister Sajjan Singh Verma, were linked to the BJP, and the incident occurred near Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's seat, demonstrating the status of law and order in MP.  However, state BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal stated the primary accused and co-accused were both members of the Congress, and that the opposition party's intention to turn the case into a tribal against higher caste issue would fail because two of those arrested were tribals.

(with inputs from PTI)

Picture Credit: PTI